This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-146635, filed on May 16, 2001; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the structure of a design display reel that rotates and displays designs in a gaming machine such as a slot machine and more particularly to the structure of designs on a design sheet to be mounted around the outer periphery of the design display reel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, with a slot machine or other such gaming machine 100, as shown in FIG. 9, three design display reels 111, 112 and 113 are rotated and then halted and the object of the slot game is to make the designs on a plurality of design display reels displayed at display lines p1, p2 and p3 match up in a specific configuration.
The design display reels 111, 112 and 113 of the gaming machine 100 are rotated by a built-in motor (not shown) and designs 121e, 122e, 123e and so forth are drawn on design sheets 121, 122 and 123 mounted around the outer peripheries of the design display reels 111, 112 and 113, respectively.
Lamps (not shown) are respectively housed in the design display reels 111, 112 and 113 and the designs displayed on the design display reels 111, 112 and 113 are illuminated from within by these lamps, so that the display stands out visually to the player who faces in front of the gaming machine 100 and plays the game.
Base material from which the design sheet 121 is made is a polycarbonate that is transparent and flexible and as can be seen from FIG. 10A, which shows the front of the design sheet 121 and FIG. 10B, which shows the back of the design sheet 121, a plurality of designs 121c, 121d, 121e, 121f and so on are drawn so as to be visible to the player from in front of the sheet front 121o. 
The design 121e drawn on the design sheet 121 is a winning design, with the player winning when the designs displayed on a plurality of design display reels are aligned on the same display line p1, p2, or p3 when the design display reel 111 comes to a stop during a slot game and the other designs 121c, 121d, 121f and so on are ordinary designs not set as winning designs.
The ordinary designs 121c, 121d, 121f and so on are drawn in colored, opaque inks of red, yellow, blue, green and so forth.
In contrast, with the winning design 121e, the periphery 121e2 thereof is drawn using a mirror ink in gold, silver, or another such color having a metallic gloss, as shown in FIG. 11A, which is an enlarged view from the sheet front 121o and FIG. 11B, which is an enlarged view from the sheet back 121u, while the center part 121e is drawn using transparent, colored crinkle ink or transparent, colored regular ink having a hue of red, blue, or the like. Crinkle ink is used in the example shown here (See FIG. 11B.)
The background region 121H, which is the background of the designs 121c, 121d, 121e, 121f and so on of the design sheet 121, is applied in a strip using white ink.
The design sheets 122 and 123 shown in FIG. 9 are the same as the design sheet 121 and will therefore not be described.
As discussed above, the ordinary designs are printed in their entirety using colored, opaque ink, whereas the periphery of the winning design is printed using an opaque mirror ink, while the center part is printed using a colored, transparent ink.
Since the designs displayed on the design display reels are illuminated by lamps from inside the reels, the center part of the winning design printed using a colored, transparent ink stands out to the player because of the illuminating light of the lamp, which allows the player to distinguish the winning design from the ordinary designs.
There are also different kinds of winning design, for big, medium and small wins and these must be displayed so that the player can clearly differentiate between big, medium and small wins.
Accordingly, since the center part of a winning design is illuminated by lamp light and therefore stands out to the player, the various winning designs are differentiated by varying the color of the transparent, colored crinkle ink or transparent, colored regular ink used in the center of the designs.
However, because the various winning designs are merely differentiated by varying their color, their presentation is somewhat monotonous and the range of possible designs is limited.
Also, as mentioned above, the periphery of the winning designs is printed using a mirror ink of gold, silver, or another such color having a metallic gloss. However, a design made in mirror ink can sometimes appear lacking in luxurious appearances, or can even look black depending on the angle of the illuminating light.
In addition, the designs applied as above definitely appear to the player to have that xe2x80x9cprintedxe2x80x9d look and there is a desire among persons in this industry to come up with a novel design that affords greater freedom of design and gives the player a different impression in quality from that of printed designs.
In light of the above situation, it is an object of the present invention to provide a design display reel for a gaming machine, with which it is possible to display designs that look different from and more elegant than printed designs and are therefore more entertaining, which are readily distinguishable from other designs and which afford greater latitude in design.
In order to achieve the stated object, one aspect of the present invention provide a design display reel for a gaming machine, adapted to mount a design sheet printed with a plurality of types of designs, wherein at least one of the designs is furnished with a design region having a holographic material.
With this configuration, because a holographic material is used for at least part of the region of the designs displayed on the design display reel of a gaming machine, the designs have a three-dimensional look and look more luxurious to the player.
Also, if the holographic material is seen through the transparent portion of a design sheet colored so as to preserve transparency, it is possible to achieve an appearance that combines a flat appearance with a three-dimensional appearance, giving more latitude to the appearance of the designs.
Further, another aspect of the present invention provides a design display reel for a gaming machine, adapted to mount a design sheet printed with a plurality of types of designs, wherein at least one of the designs is furnished with a design region having a design printed portion and a holographic material.
With this configuration, it is possible to achieve an appearance that combines a flat appearance with a three-dimensional appearance by providing a design region having a design printed portion and a holographic material, giving more latitude to the appearance of the designs.
Furthermore, still another aspect of the present invention provides a design display reel for a gaming machine adapted to a design sheet printed with a plurality of types of designs, wherein at least one of the designs is furnished with a design region having a light-blocking design printed portion, a holographic material and a translucent design printed portion.
With this configuration, it is possible to achieve an appearance that combines a flat appearance, a three-dimensional appearance and a highlighted flat appearance by providing a design region having a light-blocking design printed portion, a holographic material and a translucent design printed portion, giving more latitude to the appearance of the designs.
When the design display reel rotates, light appears to the player to sparkle as it is scattered by the hologram part of the designs, which makes the gaming machine more entertaining.
Thus, a design in which a holographic material is used can be differentiated from other designs because it looks to the player to be different from the other designs, affording greater variation and freedom in the design of the designs.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to achieve a gaming machine design display reel with which the designs look more elegant and entertaining than the appearance afforded by printing and these designs can be differentiated from other designs and furthermore with which it is possible to display designs with greater latitude in design.